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Annual Convention
The Politics of International Diffusion:
Regional and Global Dimensions
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, USA
APRIL 3-6, 2013
ISA Sponsored Catalytic Workshop
organized by
Sustainability Transition and Sustainable Peace:
Policy Initiatives of Governments and International Organizations
2 April 2013
Final Workshop Programme, Tuesday, 2 April 2013
Room Golden Gate 1 at the Hilton San Francisco, 8:00 AM
8:00-8:30: Introductory Session: Project, Participants, Research Interests
- Chairperson: Oswald Spring, Prof. Dr. Ursula, UNAM, CRIM, Cuernavaca, Mexico
- Hans Günter Brauch, AFES-PRESS: Introduction (20 minutes)
- The Sustainability Transition and Sustainability Project (STSP)
- First three workshops and ISA panel: Mexico, Japan and ISA
- The peer-reviewed publication project: Sustainability Transition and Peace
- Questions and answers (10 minutes) Audio podcast [SF_01e]
8:30-10:00: Panel 1: Roundtable 1
- Chairperson: Brauch, PD Dr. Hans Günter, Peace Research and European Security Studies (AFES-PRESS), Adj. Prof., Free University of Berlin [SF_01c]
- Brief introduction of the participants (1 minute each, or 15 minutes)
- Brief introduction of research focus and interests of participants (3 minutes each, 45 minutes)
- General discussion, questions and answers (30 minutes) Audio podcast [SF_01f]
10.30-12:00: Panel 2: Stainable Development, Sustainable Peace, Culture and Social Representations (15 minutes each, 10 minutes for discussant, 20 minutes for general discussion
Chairperson: Scheffran, Prof. Dr. Jürgen, Hamburg University
10:30-10:45: Paper 1: Brauch, PD Dr. Hans Günter, Peace Research and European Security Studies (AFES-PRESS), Adj. Prof., Free University of Berlin: Seven Dimensions of ‘Sustainability Transition’: Temporal, Spatial, Scientific, Societal, Economic, Political and Cultural
Abstract, powerpoint, paper, audio podcast [SF_01]
10:45-11:00: Paper 2: Stephenson, Prof. Dr. Carolyn, Political Science, University of Hawaii at Manoa: Paradigm and Praxis Shifts: Transitions to Sustainable Environmental and Sustainable Peace Praxis
Abstract, powerpoint, audio podcast [SF_01g]
11:00-11:15: Paper 3: Oswald Spring, Prof. Dr. Ursula, UNAM, CRIM, Cuernavaca, Mexico: Cultural transition changes
Abstract, powerpoint, audio podcast [SF_01h]
11:15-11:30: Comments of the discussant: Simon Dalby, Balsillie School of International Affairs, Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada
Audio podcast [SF_01i]
11:30-12:00 Discussion from the floor [Audio podcast] [SF_01j]
1:00-2.30: Panel 3: Sustainability Transition, Governance, Diffusion and Food Security
Chairperson: Stephenson, Prof. Dr. Carolyn, Political Science, University of Hawaii at Manoa
1:00-1:15: Paper 4: Dalby, Simon, Balsillie School of International Affairs, Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada: Persistence and Transformation of Mindsets: The Canadian Case
Abstract, powerpoint, paper, audio podcast [SF_01k]
1:15-1:30: Paper 5: Scheffran, Prof. Dr. Jürgen, Hamburg University: The Diffusion of Innovations for the Sustainability Transition
Abstract, powerpoint, paper, audio podcast [SF_01m]
1:30-1:45: Paper 6: Jackson Ewing, Dr. John, Centre for Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore: Food and Stability: Challenging Assumptions, Exploring Connections
Abstract, powerpoint, paper, audio podcast [SF_01n]
1:45-2:00: Comments of the discussant: Brauch, Hans Günter, PD Dr. AFES-PRESS
Audio podcast [SF_01o]
2:00-2:30: Discussion from the floor Audio podcast [SF_01p]
3:00-4:30: Panel 4: International Dimensions of Sustainability Transitions
Chairperson: Oswald Spring, Prof. Dr. Ursula, UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico
3:00-3:15: Paper 7: Happaerts, Dr. Sander, Catholic University of Leuven, HIVA – Research Institute for Work and Society; Bruyninckx, Hans, Prof. Dr. (unable to attend) Catholic University of Leuven, HIVA – Research Institute for Work and Society: Scale in the debate on sustainability transitions. Taking international developments into account
Abstract, powerpoint, paper, audio podcast [SF_01q]
3:15-3:30: Paper 8: Kern, Dr. Florian, Brighton, SPRU, UK: The Politics of Low Carbon Transitions: Protected niches, actor networks, narratives and changing contexts
Abstract, powerpoint, paper, audio podcast [SF_01r]
3:30-3:45: Paper 9: Viola, Prof. Eduardo, University of Brasilia: Planetary Boundaries and Failure of Rio + 20
Abstract, paper, audio podcast [SF_01s]
3:45-4.00: Comments of the discussant: Scheffran, Prof. Dr. Jürgen, Hamburg University Audio podcast [SF_01t]
4:00-5:00: Discussion Audio podcast [SF_01u] 5:00-6:00:
Concluding Session: Research Outlook & Scientific Networking
Chairperson: Brauch, PD Dr. Hans Günter, Peace Research and European Security Studies (AFES-PRESS), Adj. Prof., Free University of Berlin [SF_01d]
- Scientific networking and possibilities of scientific cooperation
- Scientific Publications: Possible peer-reviewed global Open Access Journal Audio podcast [SF_01v]
Annual Convention
The Politics of International Diffusion:
Regional and Global Dimensions
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, USA
APRIL 3-6, 2013
Thursday, 4 April 2013, 4.00-5.45pm (TD63)
Sustainability Transition: Theories, Approaches and Perspectives
from Europe and Latin America
Panel Abstract [SF_02a]
Chair: Hans Günter Brauch, Free University of Berlin and AFES-PRESS
1) John Grin, University of Amsterdam: Sustainability transitions in transnational society: a governance perspective
Abstract, powerpoint, paper, audio podcast [SF_02b]
2) Sander Happaerts, Catholic University of Leuven, HIVA – Research Institute for Work and Society; Hans Bruyninckx, Catholic University of Leuven, HIVA – Research Institute for Work and Society: Scale in the debate on sustainability transitions. Taking international developments into account
Abstract, powerpoint, paper [SF_01q], audio podcast [SF_02c]
3) Ursula Oswald Spring, UNAM/CRIM: Sustainability Transition: Case of a River Basin in Mexico
Abstract, powerpoint, paper, audio podcast [SF_02d]
4) Eduardo Viola, University of Brasilia Sustainability in Divided Brazil: Who Is The More Powerful Between Conservatives and Reformist?
Abstract, powerpoint, paper, audio podcast [SF_02e]
5) Jürgen Scheffran, Hamburg University: The Diffusion of Innovations for the Sustainability Transition
Abstract, powerpoint, paper [SF_01m], audio podcast [SF_02f]
Discussant: Simon Dalby, Waterloo University, Canada (Audio podcast) [SF_02g]
Discussant: Carolyn Stephenson, University of Hawaii at Manoa (Audio podcast) [SF_02h]
Discussion (Audio podcast) [SF_02i]
Theories and Approaches of Sustainability Transition:
Perspectives from Europe and Latin America
Chair: Hans Günter Brauch, Free University of Berlin and AFES-PRESS
This panel addresses the debate on ‘sustainability transitions’ since the Amsterdam conference (2009) when the ‘Sustainability Transitions Research Network ‘(STRN) was established, the ‘Routledge Studies in Sustainability Transitions’ (2010) and the ‘Environmental Innovation and Sustainability Transitions’ (EIST) Journal were launched (2011), and a WBGU Report on a ‘Social Contract for Sustainability’ was published taking up a proposal by W.C. Clark, P.J. Crutzen and H.J. Schellnhuber who called for a new paradigm of a ‘Science for Global Sustainability’ (2004). This panel brings together researchers from the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Germany, Mexico, Brazil and Canada who address this emerging research field from the perspective of policy science, international relations, ecology, geography, economics and from different theoretical perspectives. While the first paper discusses transitions from a governance perspective, the second proposes taking international developments into account by adding scale to the debate on sustainability transitions. The third paper offers a case study on sustainability transitions in the Yautepec River Basin in Mexico, while the fourth assesses sustainability in divided Brazil contrasting conservative and reformist perspectives. The last two papers address the diffusion of innovations for the sustainability transition and the approach of complexity studies and sustainability transition.
Keywords: Sustainability Transition
1) John Grin, University of Amsterdam:
Sustainability transitions in transnational society: a governance perspective
In earlier work, building on the multilevel perspective from transition theory, I have proposed a governance perspective on transitions. This perspective i) situates transitions in the structural transformations characterizing contemporary societies; and ii) pays due attention to the powering, legitimization and trust building involved in a way that enables both understanding resistance and inertia as well as designing strategies to deal with such problems.
In this paper, I will more explicitly than before address the question how transition theory may be synthesized with theories on transnational governance. In doing so, I will draw upon earlier analyses that have explored how transitions are essentially embedded in transnational society, especially from the EU but also from other continents. This will lead to a series of claims which may be further explored in further empirical research.
My conceptualization will explicitly take into account the politics involved. Thus I will try and attempt to take up one of the challenges facing transition theory, as well as to an improved understanding of one of the key global challenges.
Keywords: transnational governance, transitions, transition theory, sustainable development
2) Hans Bruyninckx, Sander Happaerts, University of Leuven: Scale in the debate on sustainability transitions. Taking international developments into account
Sander Happaerts, Catholic University of Leuven, HIVA – Research Institute for Work and Society
Hans Bruyninckx, Catholic University of Leuven, HIVA – Research Institute for Work and Society
Scale in the debate on sustainability transitions. Taking international developments into account
This paper addresses the international dimension of sustainability transitions, which has until now been underexplored in transitions thinking.
Transition theory has the ambition to analyze systemic changes in society. Until now, most studies have investigated national or sub-national cases, or changes within certain economic niches. We argue, however, that transitions are per definition transnational processes. Societal systems such as the energy or the food system are increasingly globalized, and the persistent problems that characterize them are linked to global production and consumption patterns. Furthermore, the economic structures and regulatory systems that are part of the dominant regimes, and the forces of technological development that are needed for transitions, are essentially transnational in scope. Therefore, in order to understand the systemic dynamics of transitions, the theory should also look at international developments.
This paper explores how the common heuristics of transition theory can be re-thought in light of an analysis with an international level of observation. In order to do so, we look at some of the long-term roadmaps developed by the European Commission that adopt an explicit transition discourse.
Keywords: globalization; scale; sustainability transitions; systemic thinking; transition theory
3) Ursula Oswald Spring, UNAM/CRIM: Sustainability Transition: Case of a River Basin in Mexico
Sustainability Transition in a River Basin in Mexico: The Case of the Yautepec River
The River Yautepec Basin Committee in Morelos (Mexico) was set up involving all stakeholders and the three levels of government. This created a basis for a short, middle and long term river management transition with the goal to reduce the risk of annual flash floods and droughts. The agricultural sector still uses 95% of surface water and 25% of groundwater, employs 16% of the people and creates only 4% of the GDP of Morelos. This specific consumption constrains the available water for domestic use and industry and creates also water access conflicts among the people, which are usually consensually resolved. Due to the short distance from the glacier of the Popocatepetl and the flood plain (25km), with a difference in altitude of more than 4,000m, complex challenges exist for river management transition that are aggravated by hurricanes and droughts during the dry season. Massive reforestation, soil recuperation, waste management, recycling of treated sewage water and small reservoirs in the upstream offer the whole region possibilities for sustainable development processes. Education and a cultural change of the consumerist behaviour are crucial. Governance is enhanced and confidence in local authorities is re-established due to the control of public work projects by citizens.
Keywords: sustainability transition, basin management, participative governance
4) Prof. Dr. Eduardo Viola, Universidade de Brasilia
Eduardo Viola, Institute of International Relations, University of Brasilia, Brasil
Sustainability in Divided Brazil: Who Is The More Powerful Between Conservatives and Reformist?
Economic, social and political forces oriented toward a sustainable society have been growing in importance in Brazil in the last decade. The most important arena between 2005 and 2009 was about controlling deforestation in the Amazon. After more than one decade (1989-2004) of failure pro-sustainability forces were capable of a dramatic shift in the period 2005-2010 reducing deforestation from 25,000Km2 to 6,000Km2. The peak of the reformist advance was in 2009/2010: the Brazilian Congress passed a law on climate change, -the first one constraining carbon in a non-OECD country -; the Brazilian government announced a commitment to an stabilization of emissions between 2005 and 2020; and, the presidential candidate of the Green Party won 19% of the votes. In the last two years there has been a backlash of conservatives forces: blocking the implementation of the climate change law; approving a new big impacting hydropower damming in the Amazon; passing a conservative reform of the Forest Code; passing an old fashion “new” industrial policy contradictory with the climate change law; and, conservative Brazilian position in the Rio +20. The paper will discuss the fluid and uncertain arena where conservatives and reformist fight on the future of the Brazilian society, trying to assess which are the possibilities of progress of the reformist in the next years.
Keywords: Sustainable society, low carbon, Brazil, conservative, reformist, deforestation, industrial policy
5) Jürgen Scheffran, Hamburg University
The Diffusion of Innovations for the Sustainability Transition
A sustainability transition requires transformation processes in different fields, including new technologies, products and infrastructures as well as new social rules, norms and innovations. Greening the economy rests on the rapid and effective dissemination of climate-friendly technologies, in particular renewable and efficient energy systems. To involve the economic and technological capacities of all countries, the international diffusion of know-how, innovations, investments and technologies needs to be strengthened which requires large finance and smart governance. To build-up production capacities and demand for low-carbon goods and adapt technologies to local needs and circumstances, business and governmental actors have to establish international cooperation to manage the transformation to a low-carbon society and the diffusion of innovations. In negotiations they adapt their actions to each other and seek common solutions leading to mutual benefits, reduced costs and minimal risks. To avoid social dilemmas that block cooperation binding and verifiable agreements are needed. Agreeing on and pursuing joint emission paths demands collective action to make sure that cumulative emissions by all human beings will not exceed critical limits to avoid dangerous climate change. Whether conflictive or cooperative interaction prevails depends on behavioral rules, communication procedures, institutional settings, coalition formation processes and stakeholder dialogues.
Keywords: diffusion of innovations, green economy, low-carbon transformation, renewable energy, social dilemmas, technology transfer, sustainability transition
6) Czeslaw Mesjasz, Cracow Economic University, Poland
Complexity studies and sustainability transition
Sustainability has become one of main challenges of contemporary social theory and policy. The main assumption of sustainability is to ensure economic welfare, social equality and ecologic quality across society, generations and into the future. A question is arising how sustainability can be achieved and how the process of changes leading to sustainability can be accomplished. As an answer to this question an idea of transition to sustainability or sustainability transition has been proposed. It is deriving from the complexity studies, and complex adaptive systems in particular. It is assumed in the idea of sustainability transition that concepts elaborated within complex systems studies can be applied in description, explanation, prediction, and perhaps, stimulating the phenomena leading to sustainability. Such an approach is limited due to a superficial understanding of complexity as a set of mathematical concepts and metaphors. The aim of the paper is to identify the impact of complex systems studies upon sustainability transition. Attention will be paid not only to mathematical models of complexity (“hard complexity”) but also to analogies and metaphors relating to complexity which are used in sustainability transition theory and practice (“soft complexity”).
international.
Keywords: sustainability, sustainability transition, complexity
Discussant: Simon Dalby, CIGI chair in the political economy of climate change, Balsillie School of International Affairs, Waterloo, Ontario.
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